The present invention relates to a plastic profile which is angularly adjustable. More particularly, the invention provides a plastic profile which can either be set to a desired angle, or can be used as a door or window hinge. The profile is of particular utility in the construction of a shower stall.
In our Israel Specification No. 117,154 there is described a prefabricated vertical shower stall made of several panels, corner connecting profiles and other components. Shower stalls of this type are often square or rectangular in plan view. However, it is sometimes advantageous to allow some of the corners to form an angle that is other than 90 degrees. Such a requirement may arise when the enclosure is to be erected in a non-rectangular space, or when a user is interested in such a shape for purposes of style. Few prior-art shower stalls allow such an installation; one that does so requires three profiles for this purpose, allowing corner angles to be adjusted only in coarse increments of about 30 degrees. The above-mentioned Israel Specification describes and claims a shower stall which includes, in one of its embodiments a multi-functional profile enabling alternative rigid linear and variable angle connections, said profile having an open channel bracketed by at least two opposite outer sectors forming part of a circle, each of said sectors having a plurality of spaced-apart external ridges. The spaces between these ridges which control the angle setting are typically up to 20 or 25 degrees. Such a joint is made of two separate rigid extrusions, the angle being set on assembly on site by drilling and inserting screws through the mating profiles.
Although the above-described profile joint has been used in commercially successful designs, the following problems remained:
a) For space reasons, the panels could not be preassembled as shower enclosures in the factory, stored and transported to the user as one unit.
b) Although panel assembly at different angles was possible, such angles were still limited to increments of about 20°, according to the ridges on the outer face of the multi-functional profile.
It is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to obviate the disadvantages of the prior-art connector profiles and to provide a profile which, as a single unit, allows changes in the angle between its panel holders to be readily made which in prior-art designs requires two profiles. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a connector profile being absolutely leak-proof without requiring the use of a sealing element. Yet a further object of the present invention is to allow large-angle changes, such as those which are needed when a shower enclosure is folded flat for purposes of storage or transport.